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Supporting plug-in vehicles means providing public charging stations, streamlining the process to install home charging stations and providing incentives to reduce the amount of pollution created by charging plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune, “We need to get the right policies in place, moving forward, soon. And when I say soon, I mean get them in place over the next six months to a year.” ELPC is working with the public and private sectors in Chicago to maximize the environmental benefits of plug-in vehicles.

Read the article here Learn more about plug-in vehicles at elpc.org/plug-ins

In an OpEd published in the Des Moines Register, ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner says, “Iowa can and should be a leader in gaining the jobs of the future by helping build new, cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution and save us money at the pump.” Read the full OpEd.

“Our state is now moving to begin construction of a modern rail system that will create economic development, better travel options and less pollution,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center. ” The agreement is a big first step in the transformation of our transportation system.”

Construction on this project is expected to start this fall, and we look forward to high-speed trains operating in Illinois beginning in 2012. High-speed rail is a win-win-win: good for jobs, good for economic development and good for the environment.

Today’s announcement moves forward the work over many years by rail advocates and public officials.

Read coverage in the Chicago Sun Times

Listen to the story here

Read the letter here

The BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has awakened many Americans to the dangers of our addiction to oil. The latest polls show that most Americans want to find cleaner and safer ways to power their cars and heat their homes. The good news is that a shift to more fuel efficient cars and trucks will both improve the environment and boost our economy.

Under the new federal greenhouse gas reduction and fuel economy standards that were finalized in Spring, the average fuel economy for passenger cars will increase from 27.5 mpg in 2009 to 37.8 mpg by 2016 – an improvement of almost 40 percent. Building cleaner cars will reduce lifetime greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles produced between 2012 and 2016 by more than 655 million tons. That’s a big step forward.

The shift toward cleaner cars provides an opportunity for new manufacturing centers and product lines in Indiana, as automakers develop more efficient technologies and better pollution controls. In Elkhart, for example, former RV builders will now be manufacturing electric vehicles for Think motors.  Think is planning to produce about 20,000 vehicles annually in Elkhart by 2013.  Likewise, just outside of Indianapolis, EnerDel will soon employ up to 1,400 people manufacturing batteries for electric vehicle.

Indiana’s pool of highly trained autoworkers will be building the cars – and the economy – of the future.  These good manufacturing jobs are “green jobs” for our future.

The new federal technology-forcing and innovation-encouraging standards for the cars of the future are expected to save as much as 11.6 billion gallons of gasoline per year by 2016. That’s equivalent to half the oil that the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia each year. That reduction in gasoline purchases will save consumers around $35 billion annually at the pump if gas costs $3 per gallon.

The transition to cleaner cars should be accompanied by deploying modern technologies to clean up and diversify our electricity generating sources. Driving an electric car doesn’t help clean up the environment as much if it’s charged by electricity generated by older, highly-polluting coal plants.  We can and should use clean power to charge plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles.  Let’s build charging stations powered mostly by wind and solar energy

Solar energy is most available on the hot, sunny afternoons when power market prices are highest and the power is needed most. If electric vehicle charging stations are powered by solar, the pollution equation works well. Let’s try to locate charging stations in places where there is good solar access. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Legislature should also adopt robust “net metering” rates and standards for the charging stations to sell valuable solar-generated power back into the grid when it is not fully used for charging cars.

Indiana can and should be a leader in gaining the jobs of the future from building new, cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution and save us money at the pump. Getting cleaner, more efficient cars on the roads is a key step forward for reducing our oil dependence. As the BP oil spill disaster unfortunately reminds us daily, business as usual is not the right path for our economy and environment.  Let’s be smarter and do better.

“This report emphasizes the opportunity here for Midwest high-speed rail will grow our economy while improving our environment. High-speed rail means good business for Chicago, improved mobility, reduced pollution and job creation,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

The report estimates that a Midwest high-speed rail network linking Minneapolis – Madison – Milwaukee, St. Louis, Detroit and other areas will being 3 million new visitors to downtown Chicago each year and will spur new commercial development around Union Station and other areas downtown.

The Environmental Law & Policy Center has worked for over a decade to build support for the Midwest High-Speed Rail Network. Progress toward Midwest high–speed took a major step forward when the Federal Railroad Administration awarded $2.6 billion to jumpstart construction of leading high-speed rail projects in the Midwest.

Click here for more information on ELPC’s high-speed rail program

Download the U.S. Conference of Mayors report here

Listen to the story here

Some plug-in vehicles already on the market, and almost every major auto manufacturer is working to develop their own plug-in models for the coming years. Car makers are developing a range of technologies, from all electric vehicles, to hybrids that combine batteries with a gasoline engine, to models with batteries that can be swapped out for charging.

Wondering when you can buy a PHEV, how long it takes to charge, or what the difference is between PHEVs and EVs?  Find the answers on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Location Matters

Plug-in electric vehicles’ effect on reducing pollution and dependence on foreign oil varies according to when and how the electricity they use is generated.

The environmental benefits of plug-ins are smaller if they are charged with electricity from coal plants, and larger if the electricity is generated with no or low-carbon fuel sources like solar & nuclear power and particularly wind energy.

In areas with substantial wind and nuclear power, surplus energy may be available at night to charge plug-in vehicles. Overall demand is lowest at night, and when strong wind power is often available and many nuclear plants “run negative,” meaning that the cost of generating the power exceeds the selling price. In these areas, strategies that encourage plug-in charging at night can make the difference in reducing pollution

ELPC’s Advocacy

ELPC is working to promote policies that will create a smart and strategic integration of plug-in vehicles, focusing on areas where low-cost, low-carbon electricity is available to make plug-ins part of the solution to global warming.

The first area we are focusing on is Northern Illinois.  Illinois is home to Chicago, the third largest metropolitan area in the nation, and is among the top ten states for new registrations of gasoline hybrid-electric vehicles. Studies have found that large metropolitan areas are the best market for plug-in vehicles.

With low-carbon energy available from wind and nuclear power, especially at night, the charging scenario in Northern Illinois is optimal. ELPC is working to promote off-peak charging, solar public charging stations and other programs that will maximize the benefits of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

An off-peak vehicle charging rate would offer consumers a monetary incentive to charge up while electricity demand is low and coal plants are in the “off” position.  On-site solar power could be used to power public vehicle charging stations, ensuring that the electricity that charges plug-ins comes from the sun, rather than highly polluting coal plants.

Plug-ins Create Clean Energy Opportunities

In the near future, with a large number of plug-ins on the road and a smart electrical grid, plug-in vehicle batteries could have a two-way charging relationship with the power grid.  Vehicle batteries could store excess clean energy when it’s available. When electric demand peaks, utilities could pay to draw power from plugged-in vehicle batteries. This source of clean reserve power could make renewable energy more efficient and eliminate the need for new coal plants while offering financial benefits for both consumers and utilities.

Learn more about vehicle to grid opportunities here and here

Learn More:

Watch ELPC’s Webinar on Plug-in Hybrid Strategies for Reducing Pollution

Project Get Ready – a non-profit initiative working to help cities prepare for the growth of plug-in vehicles